The present invention relates to a system to prepare and dispense a nitrogen infused beverage into a receiver such as a glass or mug so that the dispensed beverage has a flavor, odor and appearance enhanced by the gas infusion and beverage dispensation process.
The use of N2 gas to store and dispense carbonated beverages such as beer and soda is conventionally known and is described, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,995 and in U.S. Pat. No. 8,438,969. However, infusion of other non-carbonated beverages such as coffee or tea and provision of that product as a chilled beverage to a consumer from a dispensing unit is an area of much interest.
A chilled beverage such as tea or coffee is provided with unique flavor and appearance by N2 infusion and there is a need for a system, preferably a self-contained unit that prepares and dispenses chilled N2 or N2/CO2 infused beverages both in a commercial utility and in a residential kitchen. In addition to flavor and appearance enhancement of the chilled beverage, the system must also be cost effective and user friendly for utilization and maintenance.
Systems to prepare and dispense such nitrogen infused liquids have been described by the present inventors in PCT/US15/28876, filed May 1, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and in U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/993,700, filed May 15, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
However, in the systems described in these applications the beverage to be infused with a gas, preferably nitrogen or a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide is conducted through a membrane infuser wherein the nitrogen or nitrogen mixture enters the beverage across a membrane surface. Such a system by necessity can be applied only to beverages which are solutions. Membrane performance requires a high gas permeation per unit area to be effective. However, experience has shown that even with a beverage solution such as coffee, the roast and preparation histories of different coffees lead to large variation in the physical properties of the coffee when treated in the infuser. In extreme cases the coffee may gel and severely affect the ability of the membrane to function in the infusion process.
In such cases it is necessary to perform maintenance on the system to rejuvenate or replace the infuser unit. Such operation may be costly in terms of equipment and maintenance, may result in loss of sales in a retail application and may create a hygiene problem within the dispense system overall.
Therefore, there remains a need for a method and a system to prepare and dispense nitrogen infused beverages which is universal in application to different beverages from apple juice to tea and coffee, including beverages such as orange juice which may contain homogenized or dispersed solids and could not be efficiently infused with nitrogen in the systems previously described.
Thus an object on the present invention is to provide an efficient, cost effective system of enhanced hygiene to infuse a broad spectrum of beverages with nitrogen or a nitrogen-carbon dioxide mixed gas and dispense the infused beverage in an attractive and facile method such that the system may be employed in a retail environment or in the home.
A further object is to provide a unit system capable of preparing and dispensing multiple nitrogen infused beverages.
Another object of the present invention is to provide the system as a kit which may be portable or may be permanently installed.